


Shop Talk

by Chancy_Lurking



Series: Felix+ [11]
Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Felix is a little jumpy, Friendship, Gen, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 16:32:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11901699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chancy_Lurking/pseuds/Chancy_Lurking
Summary: “He also learns that Capheus has… well, he has a Felix.”(Felix and Capheus chat over bubble tea.)





	Shop Talk

There’s something a little ridiculous about Wolfgang in a polo shirt that Felix never really gets over whenever he sees it. The security company – that _really_ should do their background checks a little better, but be it far from Felix’s place to point that out – that Wolfgang works for as a cover has all their _‘sentinels’_ wear offensively bright green shirts with the company logo on the breast. Felix had taken one look at it when Wolfgang got the job and, after a moment of the room twirling like they were in the twilight zone, burst into laughter.

A safe-cracking _genius_ of a diamond thief working on suburban alarm systems in the most eye-catching color that has ever been on his body; how could he _not_ laugh at that? It was worth it even though Wolfgang slapped him for it.

Today, though, Felix guesses right away that there’s someone else in his skin because he walks into Felix’s job just before the end of his shift and gives him a smile bright enough to rival the shirt. It’s the smile of someone who wouldn’t feel too self-conscious in such a loud color, wouldn’t be itching to get out of it as soon as they got off work. It’s less funny and more endearing in that regard, so Felix smiles as he rounds the counter and lets himself be caught in a quick hug.

“Hey, Capheus,” Felix says quietly. He can’t remember if he’s ever said Wolfgang’s name to anyone here, but there’s no reason to let their names get conflated anyway.

“It is good to see you again, Felix!” Capheus whispers back conspiratorially. “Wolfg— _I_ thought,” he catches himself quickly, like he’d been nudged, glancing at Felix’s boss across the room. “I thought we might get some boba today if you have the time.”

“Course,” Felix answers, patting their shoulder. “It’s only a hundred and _fuck_ degrees outside, I could go for something cold.”

On the walk over, Felix decides Capheus is the sunniest personality he has ever found himself in contact with while not being in any way annoyed by him. There’s a realness to his joy that Felix appreciates; it’s not phony or put on to mask sadness, it’s the kind of happiness that only comes from knowing your own despair well enough that you don’t see the need to entertain it. Felix doesn’t say it, but he feels like Capheus should be a hero. Wolfgang and Capheus are both boots-on-the-ground rulers, but Capheus has a kindness to him that Wolfgang has never been allowed. Wolfgang is the barbarian king drawing all blood necessary to keep the castle walls up and Capheus is the reigning prince, a winning smile and calloused hands, open in offering. They both have it in them to be conquerors and Felix is glad to stand in their courts.

Felix learns that Capheus is known for two things besides his kindness: he is a mama’s boy and he drives a bus. The former is not surprising in the least and Felix laughs when Capheus says it, feels a sharp twist of simultaneous worry and relief at once when he mentions his mother is doing “better on the new medicine”. He says “That’s great then,” and doesn’t ask further. The latter springs them into an elongated conversation about the best chase scenes in movies and how _annoying_ it is to watch actors “hotwire” cars, “ _Sorry, Lito._ ”

He also learns that Capheus has… well, he has a Felix.

It makes him laugh tea out his nose when Felix says so. “That is one way of looking at it!” he responds, coughing into a napkin.

It’s rocking Felix’s world a little that he’s not alone in the “My Friend is Eight People” club, but when Capheus says it, well… _of course_ , he’s not. If Felix is understanding this right, any one of them could fracture off into eight more people and— _wow,_ that’s a lot of math, that’s like… fractals? _Derivatives?_ That’s seems like it would be a huge amount of people, what the _fuck,_ he’d ask Wolfgang for numbers, but Wolfgang had to cheat off him to pass algebra. What are the chances that someone _doesn’t_ know a head-mate?

“Now that you mention it, Jela is sort of like you,” Capheus says when he calms down, interrupting Felix’s existential spiral. “He guessed something was up the same way you did, though I suppose his suspicions were a little more warranted.”

“How d’ya figure?” Felix asks, drinking his taro tea.

They’re sitting on the patio outside the tea house facing the street, Felix’s eyes catching absently on the people milling past. There’s a breeze now and the fragrant, cool rush of air from the door repeatedly opening beside them makes it more than comfortable.

Capheus is slouching in Wolfgang’s body as he contemplates his words for a moment. He glances at the empty seat to his right where Felix assumes Wolfgang actually is. “There was some trouble,” he says carefully, frowning slightly, a look Felix is much less fond of. “It’s a very long story.”

Felix frowns, too. “Take it it’s a violent one, too.”

“Yes,” Capheus sighs, his face is a little stressed, but he still smiles. “But then Will and Sun came to help and, as Jela put it, I have many talents, but fighting has never been one.”

Felix has to laugh at that. “Yeah, it’s a little hard to not notice a fighter like Sun," he says admiringly. “Always good to have a friend willing to escalate a situation.”

Capheus just shakes his head fondly at that, looking up as the light at the corner changes. “You know, I cannot decide if you two would get along perfectly or kill each other.”

Felix puts his foot in the chair across from him, considering that. “Both would make a pretty great friendship,” he points out smiling around his straw when Capheus laughs.

“Wolfgang says you two would hustle together,” Capheus says, nodding when Felix’s eyes light up. “Yes, _that one_ I can see.”

“‘That one’? What do you mean ‘ _that_ one’?” Felix says, “What was the other—?”

There’s a sound and Felix is moving.

Neither of these things registers on Felix in the moment, not consciously anyway, he doesn’t realize what happens. Because if he’d been paying attention, he’d have seen the car on the corner backfire and he would have realized _that_ was the sound. But in the moment, Felix is happy with is friend and then there’s a _bang_ and the last time this happened he almost died and he doesn’t want to die without a fight, but he doesn’t have a gun, so he—

“Felix?”

That’s Wolfgang’s voice but Felix doesn’t know who said it, he blinks and realizes he’s crammed under the table and people are staring. He feels uncomfortably cool in his chest, something like horror rising at his own actions.

“Felix, it was just…” one of them starts to explain but stops because Felix knows that, he already _knows_ that. Nobody knows them here, they aren’t getting shot at on a busy street in _broad fucking daylight_ , Felix, it was just a fucking car, but Felix still _hasn’t come out from under the fucking—_

“You know, speaking of Jela, we used to do this, too.” Capheus says and then he’s sliding his chair back and joining Felix beneath the table. He folds his legs, looking out at the street in thought, “We were very young, so I can’t quite remember what exactly was happening. I think it was raining and his mother wanted us inside, but she and her neighbors were trying to cook and young boys are annoying.” He waves his hand dismissively, smiling, “So to keep us out of the way, she told us to get under the kitchen table. We treated it like a fort, a battle station in a room full of old people, haha! She might’ve had us peeling potatoes, come to think of it.” He hums at the thought. “Do you cook, Felix?”

Felix isn’t sure he’ll be able to answer at first. His first instinct is to get angry, this is _so stupid_ , he feels ridiculous and his heart feels like it’s shaking instead of beating, for no reason, _calm the fuck down._ But he doesn’t want to get angry at Capheus, not for trying to be nice to him. Felix has been struggling enough with treating people softly that he doesn’t want to start punishing the people trying to return the favor. Capheus is just sitting there quietly, not looking at him, like he knows Felix doesn’t want…

“No,” Felix says. The word comes out and it makes it easier for more to follow even if he has to choke them so they don’t shake. “Not really. Don’t think I’ve ever lived anywhere with real cooking shit.”

“Ah, you don’t need fancy cookware to make good food,” Capheus says, chuckling to himself, “What do you make?”

Felix is not going to start crying under this fucking table, he already looks like a goddamn fool. He forces his shoulders down from around his ears, takes his hand from where he’d reached to grab a gun he isn’t even carrying today. “Uh, stew mostly. I mean, what sorta simple fuck can’t boil spaghetti, right? But my stews are pretty good.”

From the rest of that conversation, Felix discerns that Capheus considers himself a pretty good cook and says Felix – from Wolfgang’s memories – isn’t half bad himself. Now that Felix has it in his head, maybe he _can_ learn to cook – what’s a hundred bucks of already stolen cash to get some nice pots? He puts that thought away for later as he also concludes that most bystanders are willing to accept weird pretty easily if it doesn’t get threatening. Nobody says a word about their abrupt under-the-table picnic; the busboy doesn’t even glance at them when he passes by to pick up their trash and bids them a good day.

Standing up makes him feel a little conspicuous, but they’re only a few blocks from the front of their apartment. They get there without incident, even though Felix specifically keeps his eyes peeled for any incidents in need of escalation. He doesn’t realize how tightly he was holding himself until he gets inside and collapses onto the sofa with a sigh, staring straight up at the ceiling.

“That was fucking dumb,” he mutters, rubbing at the phantom pain in his chest.

“Dumb happens,” is what he gets back and he laughs as the sofa sags beside him. Felix guesses that he still has Capheus if only because they haven’t said proper goodbyes yet. He figures he should let him get on with his day.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

Felix looks over and lets his eyes settle somewhere around Capheus’ chin. “Thanks.” He doesn’t specify because why drag himself through that when they all know exactly what for. He finally meets his eyes when Capheus smiles at him, a smaller secret version of his usual one. Felix appreciates the lack of pity in Capheus’ understanding.

“Is that not what friends are for?” he says, and, well, yeah. That was some pretty war-buddy shit, wasn’t it?

“Have a good day, Capheus,” Felix says with more sincerity than he’s probably ever told anyone to have a good day.

“And you have a good night, Felix,” Capheus replies, patting the back of Felix’s hand.

Wolfgang is back to him in the next second, but even still, leaves his hand on Felix’s as he turns to grab the remote, clearing his throat. “DMT?”

“Sure.” Felix doesn’t really care about the races right now, but that isn’t the point. He’s looking down at their hands with something like happy panic, fluttering and unusual in his stomach. He shifts so one of his fingers rest slightly over Wolfgang’s, but otherwise does not move as they settle in to watch the Masters.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, Felix and Jela are both probably missing like 58% of their self-restraint. If you’re trying to convince me that there isn’t an alternate universe in which they team up on a get-rich-quick scheme, I’m gonna have to ask you to reconsider.
> 
> Also, disclaimer-esque note: That tire-backfire and sitting under the table thing is from a scene in _Savages_ by Don Winslow which… I mean, it’s really not my favorite book and I never saw the movie, but it has a few redeeming qualities, I guess, one of them being that scene.


End file.
